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A family atmosphere prevailed throughout the two-hour event which called for ‘One city, one voice for peace’.

The assembled crowd fell silent and strained to listen when the father of one of the dead men addressed them from the stage.

One voice: Religious leaders, council officials and the police were united in their call for unity

Wearing a white t-shirt emblazoned with Haroon, Abdul, Shazad RIP, Tariq Jahan, 46, said: ‘I’m not a speech-maker and I don’t really know what to say, but to see the community together gives me strength in my heart.

‘All I can ask is for people to forget about me and remember these three men who sacrificed their lives for the community.

Picture of dignity: Tariq Jahan said the demonstration of community support had given him strength

‘It’s the month of Ramadan and as a Muslim it’s a very auspicious month when the gates of Heaven are open and the gates of Hell are closed.

‘These three men died for the community, they didn’t die in vain and I hope this community remembers them forever.’

Abdul Quddoos - the elder brother of Shazad Ali and Abdul Musavir - thanked the community for coming together.

Holding back tears, he said: ‘Some of us are not the best people, but we can all try to be good. Our three brothers have been martyred.’

Amid shouts of ‘Allahu Akbar’, he continued: ‘Do not divide this community, we have to show people that we are all good. I want you all to pray for all the brothers and sisters out there.’

A message was read from the grandmother of Isaiah Youngsam, a black student who was murdered during the 2005 Lozells race riots.

Addressed to the three dead Asian men, the message read: ‘I am praying for you and your family and praying that God gives you strength, grace and peace.

‘I hope your actions will only serve to further unite our communities.’

Chief Constable Chris Sims of West Midlands Police told the crowd he was certain the force had policed the unrest correctly.

He acknowledged that the events of last week had put a great deal of strain on the whole community but it was now important to move forward.

Moving moment: Abdul Quddoos (centre) broke down as he paid tribute to his two dead brothers

‘I’m absolutely confident that my officers have shown great bravery,’ he said.

‘They continue to show huge resolve throughout the week.

‘We will bring to justice people that have broken the law and we will use some compassion for those that deserve compassion as well.

‘I think it seemed for everyone involved in policing, but also for everyone in Birmingham...it’s been an incredibly long and difficult week and a lot of people have worked really hard while all this has been going on to bring this event together and to bring all these good people together to try to mark the end of the week as a chance for us now to move on with purpose, back to a sense of normality.’

There was dissent from some members of the crowd, with some complaining that the music being played at the event was disrespectful to the Islamic faith.

DESPITE ATTEMPTS TO BRING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER, SOME INSIST 'THE TENSION IS STILL THERE'

The rally was attended mainly by older members of the community and young men from the Afro-Caribbean community were conspicuous by their absence.

One local black man who gave his name as Trevor, aged 24, explained: 'You’re only going to get one per cent of the black community here today because we see two different communities being treated differently.

‘A young black man was stabbed to death by a group of Asian men and nobody went to jail.

‘It’s tragic that these three Asian men have died, but the word was out that the entire black community was going to have to pay for this.

‘Just because they outnumber us, do they really think they could get away with saying things like that?

‘The division between the communities run deep and events like this just paper over the cracks.

‘The tension is still there.’

One man, dressed in traditional Islamic dress and wearing a steward’s vest, was seen approaching others and telling them that the event was not true to Islam.

This led to Mr Jahan returning to the stage to plead for calm.

He reminded the crowd that the event was not about Islam, but an event to honour the memory of the three men who died protecting their community.

Friends of the dead man also attended the rally. Andreas Lobos, 18, a law student, said he used to play football with Haroon Jahan, who was nicknamed ‘Rooney’ due to his footballing skills.

He said: ‘It was sad losing someone that you know and I’ve come here to show my support for the family.

‘It’s really good to see all the communities represented here and people shouldn’t try and turn this into a black and Asian thing.

‘It could have been anybody who was knocked over that day.’

Local community music groups sang and council officials also gave speeches and said prayers during the event.

There was a substantial police presence in the park and the neighbouring area, with some roads closed off, but no disturbances were reported.

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Birmingham peace rally: 1,500 gather after 3 Asian men were mown down in UK riots